With one swing of the bat in the ninth inning Sunday, Jim Thome pretty much fulfilled all of his day's goals.
Thome launched a 3-2 pitch from the Angels right-hander Dustin Moseley into the stands for his 500th career home run, also serving as a walk-off shot to culminate a seven-run comeback for the White Sox in a 9-7 victory. Thome has talked about winning being the most important thing during this run to immortality, and found a way to make his home run count in more than one way Sunday.
The White Sox forced another at-bat for their slugger by scoring four in the seventh and two in the eighth, erasing a 7-1 lead for the Angels. Prior to the at-bat, Thome was 0-for-4 on Sunday and hitless in 12 at-bats during the search. He had gone 14 plate appearances in between No. 499 and No. 500.
Thome launched a 3-2 pitch to left-center, a resounding shot clearly gone from the crack of the bat. He pumped his right fist as he hit first base, sending the dugout into a frenzied celebration.
Andrea Thome, his wife, and Chuck Thome, his father, were led onto the field, with first-base coach Harold Baines and athletic trainer Herm Schneider offering their congratulations. Thome became the 23rd player to reach 500, earning a carry off on the shoulders of Bobby Jenks and Jermaine Dye.
The affable slugger earned two curtain calls and a thunderous ovation.
"What a great day, a great feeling to do it here," Thome said after the blast. "It's hard to explain what's going through me right now."
http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/artic...t=.jsp&c_id=cwsCongrats to Thome, one of the best human beings to play baseball. I was watching them interview Thome and the guy who caught it, Thome treated him like he was his neighbor, it was a really good thing to see. The guy donated season tickets he got from Thome for the ball to Thome's charity.